“The two lions outside the Art Institute of Chicago will be removed to be cleaned,” a process that will take about a month, reports the Sun-Times. (It’s the first deep-clean of the two-ton statues in twenty-one years.) “The lions are not identical; while the one…was meant to have ‘in an attitude of defiance,’ according to its sculptor, the other is ‘on the prowl.'”
Vivian Maier Arrives In London
“The story of Vivian Maier (1926-2009) is wonderfully peculiar,” writes Chloë Ashby at The Art Newspaper. “For four decades she worked as a nanny in New York and Chicago, during which time she secretly took hundreds of thousands of photographs. She was fiercely dedicated and technically skilled, yet she shared her images with virtually no one. ‘She was an “invisible” woman,’ says Anne Morin, the curator of the first UK exhibition of Maier’s work, at MK Gallery in Milton Keynes. ‘She never had her own life, living in the house of her employers, working for them. The only territory where she could be free with her own identity was photography. This was her way to exist.'”
DESIGN
Rents Too Damn High Everywhere, Shattering Records
A Redfin report “shows that nationally listed rents for available apartments rose fifteen-percent from a year ago. And the median listed rent for an available apartment rose above $2,000 a month for the first time,” advises NPR. “Rents are up more than thirty-percent in Austin, Seattle and Cincinnati. In Los Angeles the median asking rent is $3,400. Even in formerly affordable cities such as Nashville it’s now $2,140, up thirty-two-percent from last year… The Redfin report tracks asking prices for vacant units available to rent. So it does not mean that everyone currently renting is seeing their rent go up by so much. And the data in some cities may skew to the higher end of the market since it misses some mom-and-pop type landlord listings.”
Chicago Plants More Trees In Wealthier, Whiter Neighborhoods
“Over the past decade the city has backtracked on ambitious goals made years ago to provide residents with trees, particularly on the South and West sides where researchers say trees are needed the most, a Tribune investigation found… The city’s half-million street trees, those often found on the strip of grass between roadways and sidewalks, make up a part of the overall canopy coverage, along with trees in parks and yards. How the city manages these trees can directly affect residents’ quality of life.” The paper “analyzed the rate at which street trees were planted per mile of streets from 2011 through 2021,finding higher planting rates in wealthier, whiter neighborhoods deemed less of a priority.”
Scrappers Still Ply Chicago’s Alley Arteries
“It’s a common sight in Chicago: pickup trucks rolling through alleys, piled high with old appliances, rusty beams and broken bikes, all held together with webbing or rope,” writes Adriana Cardona-Maguigad for Curious City and the Sun-Times. She meets with working scrappers and finds the work is as hard as it looks. “Scrap-metal recycling is a multibillion-dollar industry. About seventy-percent of the steel produced in this country is produced from scrap metal… It’s cheaper and better for the environment to repurpose scrap metal rather than mine raw materials. Metal scrappers play a small role in this huge supply chain. In the process, they help clear away potentially dangerous appliances and other metal rubbish that piles up in alleys and otherwise might end up in landfills.”
CHA Teardowns Haven’t Panned Out For Chicagoans
“This land was promised for housing. Instead it’s going to a pro soccer team owned by a billionaire,” reports Mick Dumke for WTTW and ProPublica. “More than 30,000 people wait for homes from the Chicago Housing Authority. Meanwhile, a site that’s gone undeveloped for two decades is set to become a Chicago Fire practice facility… Now, after building less than a third of the promised new units, officials are moving with unusual urgency to redevelop the largest plot of empty land at ABLA—but not for housing. Instead, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Chicago Housing Authority are planning to lease the land for decades to a professional sports team owned by a local billionaire.”
Brick Of Chicago Examines Logan Square
Will Quam “created Brick of Chicago to highlight the buildings in Chicago neighborhoods, with an emphasis on bricks,” reports LoganSquarist. “He recognized that this niche interest represented so much more: history, storytelling and connection to the city. Brick of Chicago started as an Instagram account to feature Quam’s photography. With increasing interest, the account led to Quam hosting tours in neighborhoods including Logan Square.”
DINING & DRINKING
GrubHub Could Be Acquired By Private Equity
“Just Eat Takeaway may struggle to get a price near the $7.3 billion it paid for Grubhub last year, with some suitors considering offers close to $1 billion,” reports Bloomberg. “New York-based Apollo Global Management Inc. is among possible suitors evaluating the business.”
Inner Town Pub Teases Return
Ukrainian Village’s months-shuttered Inner Town Pub, located in a 140-year-old building, hints on Instagram, “You can hear the owls… ‘Soon, soon!'” (Construction permits to correct violations are presently posted on the bar’s windows.) As the bar touts on its website, “HOME TO THE ARTS. The Inner Town Pub, Home of the Arts, has been a West Town-Ukrainian Village institution for 35+ years. Its history in the neighborhood goes back to the days of Prohibition, the ITP came into its own during late 80s early 90s, becoming a home for the local bohemian artist community.” Website here. Block Club Chicago tallied the violations that led to the September 29, 2021 closure, not limited to flawed electrical connections and raw sewage, here. “There is so much extension cord wiring in the basment [sic] and 1st floor bar that it is, in fact, the primarly [sic] mode of electrical wiring in this building,” the inspection report said. “Many of these extension cords are crimped as they are routed from outlet to device(s). This is an Extremely Dangerous and hazardous codition [sic] . The bar has been closed and a ComEd disconnect has been ordered.”
Chicago Bartender John D. Colgan Was Sixty-Three
John Colgan “tended bar at Chicago bars including Celtic Crossings, The Ambassador Public House, Fado, Johnny O’Hagan’s, Kitty O’Shea’s and, most recently, at The Embassy pub, 1435 West Taylor,” writes Maureen O’Donnell at the Sun-Times. “Wherever Mr. Colgan worked, he knew the secret of putting a creamy top on a pint of Guinness. ‘He did it like a champ,’ said Tina Macek, who works for The Embassy pub. ‘John was meticulous. It takes two pours. You fill a bit more than three-quarters of the glass by pulling the handle forward, and then you let it settle. Then, you finish off with a back push of the handle—backwards goes in with a slower rate, and the foam rises to the top. It ends up looking almost like an ice cream cone.’ Beyond Mr. Colgan’s prowess with a pint, ‘The guy was great with people and getting to know them, getting inside their heads if they did have a problem,’ his friend John Phelan said.”
Golden Nugget Closes After Fifty-Two Years
“Golden Nugget, 4229 West Irving Park, was once one of the chain’s twenty-four-hour spots, long popular with the breakfast and late-night crowds, neighbors said. It opened in 1970,” reports Block Club Chicago. “A sign advertising open positions for servers, a host and people to take delivery orders was still on one of the restaurant’s windows, but [Cathy] Guzman said staffers have been moved to other locations. Other signs told customers where to find longtime servers Diane, Nancy and Odette.”
Starbucks Founder-CEO Howard Schultz Says He Won’t Engage With Union
Saying “the customer experience” would be “challenged,” Starbucks’ billionaire founder tells the New York Times’ Andrew Ross Sorkin the company won’t engage with Starbucks Workers United. “The primary reason is, that we are in business to exceed the expectations of our customers, a hundred million people come into Starbucks, our customer experience will be significantly challenged and lessened if a third party is integrated into our business. ‘Cos they’re not acting in good faith. Because we have a different view… My belief is that we have built a company that is centered around exceeding the expectations… and that is the vision we have for the future.”
Starbucks Likely To “Harden” Stores And Roll Back Restroom Access
The New York Times reports from a Times conference that Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz says, “‘We have to harden our stores and provide safety for our people… I don’t know if we can keep our bathrooms open.’ …The move would reverse a policy Starbucks instituted in 2018 in the wake of the arrest of two Black men in one of its Philadelphia stores. The two men had been reported to the police by a Starbucks employee after they were denied use of the store’s bathroom and asked to leave. They hadn’t made a purchase. At the time, Starbucks announced that ‘any customer is welcome to use Starbucks spaces, including our restrooms, cafes and patios, regardless of whether they make a purchase.'”
FILM & TELEVISION
Tracy Letts Wants Playwrights Making Movies Instead Of TV
“For me, it’s often sad to see all of the former playwrights who are now television writers,” Tracy Letts tells IndieWire’s Eric Kohn. “I understand why they’re doing it. You can’t make any goddamn money in the theater the way you can in film, and especially television. But I sit there and go, ‘Jesus. Here was a great playwright in the making.’ … I’ve talked to a lot of people who move back and forth between the disciplines and there is something really edifying about going back into the theater. There’s just a kind of idea here that storytelling has primacy. Ultimately, I think that plays are better than movies, and movies are better than television.”
LIT
Catholic Group Launches Anti-LGBTQ Library Campaign
A Catholic-identified organization tells parents to “Hide the Pride” during Pride Month “by checking out any LGBTQ-related books they see at their local libraries so that no children will see them,” reports WGN-TV. The group, which calls itself “CatholicVote,” says “parents can inconspicuously check out materials and place them away from children at home.”
Downers Grove Says No To “Gender Queer” Book Banning
“A west suburban school board unanimously voted this week to keep a book on sexual orientation and gender identity in its libraries after a group of conservative parents and members of the far-right Proud Boys group raised objections over the past few months,” reports the Sun-Times. “The dispute has roiled the Downers Grove high school district, particularly at a rowdy November board meeting at which adults in one case called a student a ‘pedophile.’ …The book is not part of the curriculum at either Community High School District 99 school, Downers North or Downers South. But a group of fifteen parents challenged its availability in the school libraries.”
LeVar Burton Whacks American Book Bans
On the rush to ban some children’s books, Levar Burton tells The View, “I’ll be absolutely candid and honest. It’s embarrassing that we are banning books in this country; in this culture; in this day and age. Read the books they’re banning. That’s where the good stuff is!”
MUSIC
Music Director Riccardo Muti Returns for June CSO Residency
Music Director Riccardo Muti returns to Chicago to lead the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in two subscription concert programs and a free Concert for Chicago in Millennium Park. Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter joins Muti and the CSO to perform Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in a program that features Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 (June 16-18). Muti leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus—prepared by guest chorus director Donald Palumbo from the Metropolitan Opera—and a distinguished cast in concert performances of Verdi’s “Un ballo in maschera” (June 23, 25, 28). On June 27, Muti and the CSO return to the Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park for the first time since 2018 to perform a free Concert for Chicago. Muti also leads an open rehearsal for invited senior, community and veteran’s groups on June 16 as part of his residency activities and an ongoing commitment to create access for a wide array of audiences across the Chicago area. Program and ticket information here.
Conductor Osmo Vänskä Exits Minnesota Orchestra
“After nineteen years as the ensemble’s conductor, Osmo Vänskä bids farewell with Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis on Sunday,” reports the New York Times. “His departure is a moment to take stock of why his tenure, one of the most tumultuous in the history of American orchestras, has been so important.”
STAGE
Congo Square Theatre Company Celebrates Juneteenth
Congo Square Theatre Company will celebrate the Juneteenth holiday with two “Homecoming”-themed programs in Bridgeport. The celebration begins with the company’s free Festival on the Square from 1pm-4pm. Inspired by the original Congo Square located in New Orleans, the program celebrates arts, healing and Black joy, showcasing live performances, theatrical readings and Black-owned vendors. Ayodele Drum & Dance kicks off the festival with a live performance, followed by Congo Square Theatre ensemble member Aaron Todd Douglas reading August Wilson’s “How I Learned What I Learned,” followed by a performance from Chicago blues star Melody Angel. At 6pm, Congo Square hosts the 2022 Vision Benefit, to support Congo Square’s mission and to celebrate its work and return to live theater. The 2022 Vision Benefit will honor three individuals for their contributions to the company and the Chicago theater community: Luther Goins will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award; Jacqueline Williams the Artistic Excellence Award; and Rueben Echoles will receive its Emerging Artist Award. The events are Sunday, June 19 at the Zhou B Art Center in Bridgeport. More here.
Sarah Sherman Squirms Back
Christopher Borrelli reports on Sarah Sherman’s four-show return to Chicago comedy: “She pinged and ponged. It’s all kind of a great mess. She wore a paisley psychedelic matching two-piece and said the eight years she lived in Chicago were ‘the ugliest eight years of my life.’ She pretended briefly to be a standard-issue stand-up playing Zanies. She asked what that smell was. She tightened her shoulders, waddled across the stage and claimed she was Lori Lightfoot. She spoke of diarrhea within minutes of being on stage. Ew, someone groaned. ‘You think that’s disgusting?’ Sherman screamed. ‘You ever heard of Vietnam!?!'”
Theo Ubique Goes For Twenty-Five
Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre’s artistic director Fred Anzevino and managing and casting director Christopher Pazdernik announced the group’s twenty-fifth anniversary season with four musicals, including a Midwest premiere and Anzevino’s return to directing for the company. The season kicks off in October with the Midwest premiere of “Refuge,” by Satya Jnani Chávez and Andrew Rosendorf, which combines multiple artistic disciplines to tackle the immigration crisis. The holidays will bring the group’s take on the award-winning musical “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.” The company will also recognize its past with composer Kurt Weill, as Anzevino directs “The Threepenny Opera.” The season closes with the company’s rendition of musical “Passing Strange.” The company is also planning an anniversary gala for Saturday, September 17 at their Howard Street Theatre home. More here.
ARTS & CULTURE
Illinois Makes Cut As Possible First Democratic Primary State
Bids by seventeen states to become the first-in-season Democratic primary state have passed muster, including Illinois, reports Lynn Sweet.
Pride In The Park Comes To Chicago
More than 30,000 people are expected in Grant Park for Pride in the Park Chicago, June 25-26. “Pride in the Park Chicago is a two-day immersive Pride and music festival experience built upon a one-of-a-kind inclusive queer celebration,” the event relays in a release, “bringing together attendees for iconic musical performances and show-stopping queer and ally artists. Pride in the Park is excited to feature two stages, top international and local musical talents; performers and activist speakers; and a wide variety of food, drinks and merchandise.” Details here.
Monica Nia Jones Named Miss Illinois 2022
From a group of twenty-six candidates, twenty-five-year-old Monica Nia Jones won the title of Miss Illinois 2022 on Saturday evening at the Marion Cultural and Civic Center, “following five days of interviews, performances and rehearsals. She competed as Miss Windy City,” reports the Southern Illinoisan. “Jones will spend the next year participating in special events, promoting her social initiative of music uniting souls and communities and will represent the state at the Miss America competition in December. In addition to the title and crown, Miss Illinois will win a minimum $10,000 scholarship as well as numerous in-kind awards.”
Chewing Gum Heir Accused Of Fraud In Weed Trade
“William ‘Beau’ Wrigley Jr. envisioned building a weed empire that would one day rival his family’s legendary chewing gum business. The former CEO of the Wrigley Company—which was sold to Mars for $23 billion in 2008—led a $65 million investment in 2018 in Surterra Wellness, which primarily did business in Florida’s fledgling medical marijuana market,” reports Politico. Renamed “Parallel,” by the end of 2022, the company “boasted that it was on course to have eighty-six dispensaries across eight markets and revenues in excess of $600 million… Now Wrigley and the company face a pair of lawsuits from investors who allege Parallel officials concealed massive debts, issued fanciful financial projections, engaged in self-dealing and committed… other misdeeds to defraud them.”
